Sharks secure 8th straight against gutsy Sea Eagles

v BYE

The Sea Eagles looked as if they would continue the publicised ‘hoodoo' in the Battle of the Beaches, but a clinical Sharks side held them off and claimed their eighth straight victory, a 20-12 win at Southern Cross Group Stadium in front of over 16,000 fans.

The opening half was scrappy, yet it just seemed that no matter how many errors or penalties the Sharks gifted Manly, the home side would easily dominate the opening half. The key to this was their forward pack, led by Andrew Fifita, easily making metres out of their own end. The game had started in very sloppy fashion, with both sides making a combined six errors in the opening 12 minutes.

It was Cronulla who would score first, despite the multitude of errors, with their forwards and dynamic fullback Ben Barba laying the platform for the hosts to weave their magic in the Sea Eagles' 20, with Sosaia Feki crashing over in the corner to open the scoring.

Although the game seemed a tad stilted due to the influx of penalties and scrums, both sides would vastly improve their handling and Cronulla showed great flair and creativity, with a Barba 20 metre tap influential in setting up a simple try out wide to winger Valentine Holmes. Although Manly's attack left much to be desired, a very soft try with a minute on the clock in the first half to Tom Trbojevic would see the visitors only trail at the break by 8 at the break. For the Sharks, the try to Trbojevic was certainly uncharacteristic of their usually rock solid defence and gave Manly a sniff heading into the sheds.

Luckily for the viewers, neither side's completion rate would look too shabby by the start of the 2nd half, with both sides' errors only eventuating in the opening 10 minutes.

Manly, however, would open the 2nd half the better of the two sides, with Jamie Buhrer crashing over off a DCE grubber. And much like the Sharks did in the opening 40, the Sea Eagles would continue to dominate proceedings, making easy metres and playing with a new found energy. And they would again cross in the 52nd minute, with Brayden Williame planting the ball down out wide for Manly's third.

Unfortunately for the away side, Lyon would again miss the conversion. Manly would go close again in the 57th minute, with a wayward pass saving Cronulla from compounding their 2nd half defensive woes. Yet, all of a sudden, Cronulla would soon discover their early energy and momentum and grab an important penalty goal to kick ahead 14-12 with fifteen to go.

Manly would claim a possible try with 12 minutes left, but the Bunker would rule that Brett Stewart took Ben Barba out in the lead up. This would then be compounded by a penalty which would gift Cronulla prime possession. And off the back of a smart kick from Maloney, Cronulla would earn a goal line drop out and despite their bravery, Barba would cross with 8 left to give Cronulla a defendable eight point lead.

Manly threatened late, but Cronulla held on for a gutsy victory against an equally brave Sea Eagles outfit.

Next week, the Sharks technically make it 9 straight with the bye - while the Sea Eagles also have a week to regroup.